Opel relies fully on rally sport

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Great tradition: Opel remains loyal to motorsport. For the EM Rally: Next Opel Corsa available as R2 from the end of 2020. Fast youngsters: Lundberg and Munster start in the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team 2019.

Opel remains true to its long and successful motorsport history. In the coming rally season, the brand will continue to step on the gas with the Blitz on the national and international special stages. The start is clear for the European Junior Rally Championship (for drivers up to 27 years of age), which from the 2019 season will officially be called the FIA ERC3 Junior Championship. Here Opel Motorsport is competing with the ambitious goal of landing its fifth consecutive European Championship title. Elias Lundberg (20) pilots one of the 190-hp factory ADAM R2 cars used by Opel technology partner Holzer Motorsport. After winning the ADAC Opel Rally Cup title last season, the Swede qualified for promotion to the ADAC Opel Rally Junior Team. Second man at the wheel of an ADAM R2 is the Luxembourg Grégoire Munster (20) - with three victories behind Lundberg Cup runner-up in 2018.

Europe's most successful rally one-make cup since the 2013 season has thus offered more than 130 participants from 18 nations a platform for professional up-and-coming motorsport and enabled eight talented youngsters to advance to the ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team.

"We've been building cars for 120 years and motorsport has always shaped the brand image of Opel - that's how it should stay," emphasises Opel boss Michael Lohscheller. "Two things are particularly close to our hearts - conveying technical fascination on the one hand and being close to fans and customers on the other. The promotion of young talent also remains an important element in our motorsport commitment. The combination with the structure at PSA Motorsport, which has grown over decades, also opens up great opportunities for us".

For the 2021 season, Opel will then develop an R2 vehicle based on the upcoming Corsa, which is intended both for the Junior European Championship and for international customer sport. Technical details of the Corsa R2, which will be available to private teams from the end of 2020, will be announced at a later date. The rally car will be based on the sixth generation of the top-seller Opel Corsa, which will be launched this year.

Opel will continue to support the ADAC Rallye Cup, which will continue to be staged with the 140-hp Cup version of the ADAM, in the 2019 season with attractive prize money and the tempting prospect of securing an ADAM R2 and spare parts package for the following season. In addition, Opel offers Cup participants on-site technical and logistical service as well as a starter package for newcomers.